Improvement in sewing-machines



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

S.. H. ROPER. SEWING MACHINE.

No. 11,531. Patented Aug. 15, 1854.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

S. H. ROPER.

" SEWING MAGEINE. No. 11,531. Patented Aug. 15, 1854.

, running stitch.77

-UNITED STATES PATENT CFFICE.

IMPROVEMENTIN SEWING-MACHINES.

Speclicafion forming part ci"` Letters Patent No. AIl,53|' dated August15, 1851.

To all whom) it may concern.-

Beit known that I', SYLvns'rnR H. Rornn,

. of Worcester. in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts,have invented new and usefulA Improvements inMachinerygfor Sewing Clothand other Material; and I do hereby dey clare thatthe 'same is fullydescribed and represented'in the following specification and theaccompanying drawings, letters, gures, and

` references thereof.

Of the said drawings, Figure l represents a top viewofthe machinecontaining my invention.4 Fig. 2 isanelevation of one side of it,

or that on which the fly-wheel' is situated. Fig. 3 is an elevation ofthe other side of it. Fig. 4 is vertical central and.' longitudinalsection of it. Fig. 5 is a transverse and vertical section of; it, this.latter section being taken through the. operatinglneedles. Such otherfigures may be necessary to a complete illustration of my invention willbe hereinafterreferred to and described. 4

My improved-machine is calculated to produce either what is generallytermed backstitch sewing, or that ordinarily called the By back-stitchsewing I mean that in which a thread, after being carried througha pieceof cloth from the front to the rear side of said cloth, is movedbackward the length of the stitch, is next again carried through thecloth from the rear to the front side of said cloth, is next carriedforward double the length of the stitch or some other suitable distance,and is next passed through the cloth from the front to the rear side ofsaid cloth. Such operations, being successively repeated, form what istermed backstitch sewing. By the ordinary running stitch or stitching Imean that in -which a thread is passed throughthe cloth from the frontto the rear side of said cloth, is next moved forward the length of thestitch, is next carried through the cloth from its rear to its frontside, is next carried forward the length of a stitch, and is againpassed through the cloth from the front to the rear side of the cloth.These operations, being repeated, formwhat is frequently called -therunning or basting stitch. My machine is exhibited in the drawings asprepared for sewing'the running stitch. In sewing with this machine I donot make use of a continuous thread in the manner in which thosemachines do which produce chain-stitch sewing, but I employ short piecesof thread,

such as a person uses when 'sewing by hand with the ordinarysewing-needle. Such short pieces, however, may be successively taken inthemanner to be hereinafter described, from one continuous thread woundon a bobbin.

In the drawings above mentioned, A denotes a column or frame forsupporting the operative parts of the` machine, such column having ashelf or table, B, extended from it and for the purposeof carrying theendless belt C, on which the cloth or material to be sewed is sustainedduring the operations of the needles therein, such cloth being moved bysaid belt 'with an'intermittent motion, such as may be necessary toenable the needles to perform the function of sewing. Y

The two needles used in the machine are exhibited at D and E, D beingthe superior or upper, and E the inferior or lower, one. A side View ofone of these needles is given in Fig. 6, and a longitudinal section ofit, together with the closing slide of its hook, represented in Fig. 7,said Figs.i 6 and 7 being drawn on an enlarged scale. Each needle isextended from a movable carriage,| G or H, which slides vertically on adovetailed guide, as seen at I K. Each` of the carriages G H isconnected to a long lever, L or L', by means 'of a short connecting-rod,Mor M', which con necting-rod is so jointed both to the carriage andlever that when the lever is made to move in a vertical plane and turnou its fulcrum N or N the needle-carriage shall be made to play or movevertically on its dovetailed guide. The arrangement of the two levers Land L', theintwo fulcra N N', their connecting-rods M M, and the twoneedle-carriages-G H is particularly represented in Fig. 3 of thedrawings.

To these two levers two long connecting-rods,

O P, are respectively jointed at their outer ends, such connecting-rodsat their inner ends being made to embrace a crank-pin, Q, that projectsfrom the side of a cam-wheel,l R, which is fixed upon the maindriving-shaft S, such shaft being caused to carry a fly-wheel, T, and tobe putin rotation by means of power applied to crankU or to said shaftin any proper manner. In Fig. 8 I have represented a sectional viewtaken through the two connectingrods O l? and the crank-pinon which theywork, such section being made transversely of the axis of saidcrank-pin. In Fig. 9 I have exhibited another section of the same, suchsection being taken longitudinally through the axis of the crank-pin.Fig. 10v represents a y front view of one of the connecting-rods. Eachconnecting-rod is curved or hollowed out, so asto rest against andstraddle the crank-pin, and it has extended from it projections a,which: are curved and made to' rest superficially against the crankepin,the arrangement of these projections being exhibited inthel drawings.Over these two-projections, and so as to inclose them and be concentricwith the crankpin, a tube or ferrule, b,'is' placed, it being confinedin position by means of a screw, c', screwed into the end of thecrank-pin. By so forming the two connecting-rods'O l?, and providingthem with projections a a and 'an inclosing-tube, b, such twoconnecting-rods may be made to play on and be simultaneously moved byone crank-pin. Fach needleis caused to move within a groove or tube, Vorv V', which groove or tube I term the threadpassage,77 the object ofsuch'passage being to prevent the threadofthe needle from kinking orsnarling vup or injuriously springing back toward the cloth when suchthread is released fom the needle, and it performs such a function byreason'of the support which it gives the thread under suchcircumstances. Each needle is what is termed a hooked needle,- it havinga hook or barb, c, and a point, d, as seen'in Figs. 6 and 7. Its shank eis made tubular or hollow, and receives within it a small rod` orclosing-slide, f, whose office is to close the opening of the hook whilethe barb of the needle is being drawn through the cloth. Thisclosing-slide is forced against the barb by a spring, g, arranged on theneedle-slide and below the tubular shank of the needle, and made to besupported by an arm, h, projected from the support-piece z' of theneedle. The closing-slidef has a projection, k, extended from it, thespring being made to bear against said projection. While a needle isbeing driven forward into the cloth, and immediately after it has passedfully through the cloth, the proj ection 7c is carried into contact witha stationarystu'd, lor m, situated as seen in Fig. 4, and made toproject into the thread passage or groove. This stud serves to arrestthe forward movement'of the closing-slide in the needle, the needlecontinuing to move forward.l Such operationcauses the hook of the needleto be opened for the reception of the thread.. After the thread haslbeen laid in the. opening of the hook of the needle, the needle isdrawn ybackward through the cloth, the barb of the needle closing up onthe slide f, so as not only to prevent said barb from catching in thecloth, but to insure the draft of the thread through the cloth;

We-neXt come to a description of the mech! anism by which the thread isbent horizontally, laid-into the opening of the needle, and drawnclosely into the cloth; and I would here take occasion to remark thatsuch an apparatus or mechanism is applied to operate witheach Kneedle,-that which belongs to the lower lneedle being arranged above thetable B, while that which operates in connection with the upper needleisdisposedunderneath the said table B.

.The two devices used for bending a portion of the thread into ahorizontal position orjnto angles with respectto the rrest of the threadare seen at no, a rear view of them on an en-v larged scale and asapplied to the bar W, in which the thread-passage is formed, beingexhibited in Fig. 11. Fig. 12 is afront view (on an enlarged scale) ofvsuch threadbenders and mechanism immediately adj aeent thereto. lFig..13 is a top view of thehook-bender a. Fig. 14 isla top view of theeye-bender o. Fig. 15 is is a rear lview of the'hook-bender a, and Fig.'16 is arear view ofthe eye-bender o. These benders are levers, formedas seen inthe drawings, and made to play together on a conrmon sta,-`-tionary fulcrum, p, as do the lblades of a pair of scissors, their twoupper arms being connected togetherby a spring, q, whose endsarerespectively attached to the arms, such spring operating to draw thetwoarms toward one another, and thereby to move the thread-benders indirections opposite to those in which they are moved by the action ofthe lever i. The front arm of said lever, an endfview of which is givenin Fig. 17, extends between the benders n o and just below their fulcrump. The fulcrum of the lever is' supported by a post or projection, s,while the rear arm, tl, of the lever is made to extend backward andwithin the path of a cam, u, fixed on the inner side ofthe cam-Wheel R,(the said cam being.

as represented in Fig. 18, which is a view of the inner side of thecam-.wheel It.) The office of this cam u is to move the lever 1' so asto cause its front arm to move downward' and separate the lower arms ofthe benders, which, while being so separated, mutually strike againsttheV thread and bend it, so that the part of the thread extending fromone bender to the other shall stand horizontally, or thereabout, or atright angles, or nearly so, withv respect to thepath of the needle.After the cam has performed this function the front arm of the lever rwill be moved in an opposite direction by means of a spring, n, and intonotches or curved recesses w .fc-made in the benders a o, and so as tocause the lower arms of the benders to approach and cross `one another.The bende 'nf is formed with a small hook, 1, while the bender o has anelongated eye, z, eX- tended from it and forthe purpose of keeping thethread always in a proper -position with respect toA the benders, 'suchthread being made to work through such eye. There is also a smallprojection, lip, or nipper, a2, eX- tended from the lower arm of thebender o, and made tol operate in connection with a spring-nipper, b2,aiixed to the side of the bar NV. During the movement of the bender otoward the thread it carries the nipper a2 against the thread, and so asto force the thread against the part or jaw of the spring-nipper b2,'such operation being performed somewhat previous to the completion ofthose movements of the thread-benders necessary `to the completion ofthe bending of the thread. Now, while the thread is thus held betweenthe' nippers, the

needle catches it, and during its descent draws the thread of the hooky, and the nippers still holding the thread it during the fartherVdescent ofthe needle will be drawn through the nippers, and withfriction sufficient to cause the stitch taken to be drawn closely intothe cloth or material to be sewed. The thread so held by the bends isnext to be moved'b'ack, in order that it may be laid into thehook-opening of the needle, and in order to accomplish'this the bendersmust'be moved backward, such a movement of them being effected by meansof a small cam, c2, aiiixed to the lever r, and made to work against acurved or inclined j surface or part of the bender o, there being asmall j spring, g2, so applied to the benders as to move them in anopposite-direction, while the front arm of thelever r is being elevated.Thebend- Y ersbeneath the table are seen at n o. Their operating-leveris exhibited at 1", such lever being actuated or moved in one directionby the cam u and in the opposite one by a spring, lv. The spring-nipperb:i of the lower benders is seen in Fig. 5.

In'the drawings, h2 represents a bobbin for carrying the thread, whichbobbin is made to rotate on a spindle, 2, projected from the bar W. Afriction-washer, m2, andscrew-nut n2 are applied to the spindle i?, andmade to operate against the bobbin, in order to prevent too much freedomof rotation. In applying a thread from the bobb'in to the machine it isdrawn downward into a notch, p2, formed in the end of a projection orarm, q2, applied to the bar IV. From this notch the thread is extendedhorizontally by the side of the needle and under and'around thehook y ofthe bender n, such thread being made to rest against a small shoulder,r2, formed on the bender and under its hook, so that .when the needle isdrawn downward the thread will slip into the opening of the hook and becaught in and by the needle. When the needle is drawn through thecloth,it carries the thread with it in a doubled state, andpif the threaddrawn through the cloth by the needle is of alength less than the extentof the motion of theneedle the thread will be drawn entirely out of .theneedle by the needle, and at a proper. time the benders of the otherneedle are put in motion, so asto bend the thread and prepare it to bereceived by the other needle and again drawn through the cloth. Thus theoperation of sewing is carried on by the two needles operatingalternately, and `as the sewing is carried on the thread which extendsfrom the cloth into the notch p2 will be carried against a 'small knifeor cutting-edge, si, aflixed to the cloth-presser t?, andwill'beseparated or cut by such knife. The movement of the feeding-belt andcloth carries the said portion of thread against the said knife. Thusit,willbc seen that, although in the operation of sewing by my machine Iuse short pieces of thread, each of which is taken in the manner abovedescribed from a long thread wound on a bobbin, the clothpresser t2 isforced downward by means of a spring, u", arranged on the shank of alifter, c, and made to bear against a projection, fwl, through whichsaid lifter slides. Said clothpresser carries a small friction-roller,x2, that rests on the upper surface of the cloth, and holds the clothdown to or 'upon the'endless feeding-belt C while the belt is inmovement.

The next portion of the machinery to be de.

scribed is that by which the endless feedingbelt Ais operated. The saidfeeding-belt is supported by two rollers or cylinders, b3 p3, arrangedon opposite sides o f the table B, the upper portion of the belt restingon the table. A ratchet-wheel, ci, is fixed on the axle of the rollerb3, and receives an impelling-pawl, di, which is arranged underneath thetable B, as seen in Fig. 19, which represents an under side View 'ofsaid table. Said impelling-pawl is jointed to one arm of a bent-lever,e3, which plays upon afulcrum, fi, and has its other arm resting againstthe periphery ofthe cam R, said cam being intended and properlyformedfor operating the lever, so as to cause the pawl d to turntheratchet c at such times and to such extent as maybe necessary to givemotion to the endless feeding-belt in order to insu-re proper movementof the cloth. The impelling-pawl is drawn backward by the action of aspring, g3, the backward movement of the front 'arm of the lever e3being regulated by a stop-screw, f 4. By means of a sliderod, i3,provided with abent or inclined surface, as seen at k3, and arranged asseen in the drawings, the impelling-pawl, di may be thrown out of actionupon the ratchet-wheel' whenever necessary. This is effected by pressinginward the slide i3 by applying the handto a knob, Z3, (fixed upon itsfront end,) and pressing said slide inward so asto carry its inclinedplane or cam k3 against. the under side of the pawl di.

Fig. 20 is a bottom view, and Fig. 21 aside,

of the hook-bender n. Fig. 22 1s a side view of the eye-bender o, andFig. 23 is aside view of the endof the lever r, showing the cam c.

Having thus described my improved sewingmachine, what I claim thereinasof my invention is as follows:

l. The groove, tube, or thread-passage-V or V', in combination with aneedle made to operate a thread essentially as described, said passagebeing for the purpose of 'supporting the thread and preventing it fromkinking or inj uriously springing .back or toward the cloth immediatelyafter the release of thethread from the needle, as described.

2. I do not claim the invention or employment of a slide or anequivalent contrivance to close down on the barb and over the openinging-of the hook of a needle; nor do I claim the application of suchclosing-slide to ahook-needie in such manner that said slide shall playor move Ain a groove made in the side 0f the needle, as the same does inthe machine patented Aby William Viekersham on the 19th day of 4 nimmaApril; of'theyear 11ste; im what I do claimv is my improvedmode of-applying the closingslide to the 'needle-that' is,` the vmaking theshankof the needle tubular and inserting the closing-slide Within thesame-whereby such closing-slide is better protected from accident, orybeing broken by catching in the 010th or thread, or otherwise broken,as it is liable to be when made to' run ina groove formed i n the sideofthe needle.

3. 'In combination together and used with a hook-needle, the twothread-)senders n o, as made to operate on the, thread and lay it in theopening of the needle, substantially as speciied, ,and in `vcombinationWith the thread-benders, the lip or nippel a2 and the spring-nippel`SYLVESTER H. ROPER. Witnesses:

C. HAMILTON, NATHL. PAINE.

